


The Bookstore Next Door

by fandoms_consume_my_life



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Connor hates his job, Evan and Jared are kind of friends, Evan gets a job, F/M, First Kiss, Love Confession, M/M, Murphy Family Bookstore, Zoe and Alana are friends, and books, especially books about trees, evan loves trees, they all graduated college
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-09 01:42:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14706722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandoms_consume_my_life/pseuds/fandoms_consume_my_life
Summary: Takes place after they all graduated college and they're all alive (looking at Connor). A bookstore opens up near Evan's apartment and then love happens.





	The Bookstore Next Door

Evan pushed open the door to the bookstore. He had heard that a new bookstore had opened near his apartment and he just HAD to check it out. He wanted to see if it had any good books about trees, as he had bought all of the good tree books from the other, larger bookstore. This bookstore was a small, family owned bookstore and there wasn't much hype in the opening of it. He knew that this would result in not too many people being in the bookstore, and he was right. Looking around, he noticed that the only people in the store were him, one cahier, and another person near the back of the store that he couldn't see.

He quickly walked towards the biology section before the cashier could cheerily greet him. He loved trees, majoring in biology in college. His closest friend, Jared, had made fun of his love of trees ever since high school, but Evan brushed it off. In high school, they were only "family friends", but they had gotten closer in college and now they were almost best friends. Almost. Although Evan did like hanging out with Jared, he didn't feel as comfortable around him. But Jared was one of the few people that he talked to, which probably wasn't a good thing now that Evan was an adult.

Evan jumped at the sound of an angry huff in the aisle next to the one he was in. He heard footsteps and followed the sound. A girl huffed by past his aisle and he felt his heart stop. She was beautiful, with flowing, light brown hair with an indigo streak in her hair. As she passed, she glanced over at Evan, gave him a kind smile, and continued walking.

Evan grabbed the book he had been looking at for the past few minutes and stumbled over to the counter. He barely registered the cashier tell him the price of his book and instead saw the girl near the front of the store staring directly in his direction. He fumbled out his wallet, paid for the book, and walked towards the door, where the girl was standing.

As he walked closer to her, he noticed that she was carefully studying him, and he felt his face go hot. He stumbled past her, mumbled an apology, and pushed out the door. He sped walked back to his apartment complex and only relaxed once he was in the elevator.

The entire rest of the day, Evan debated going back to the bookstore. When he looked at the book that he had bought, he noticed that he already had that book. He decided that he probably should go back to the bookstore to get another tree book. His cheeks warmed when he thought of the girl. Maybe she would be there too.

The next day, he left again and headed towards the new bookstore. He felt like he hadn't been as happy as he was now in years. Maybe he'd be able to actually talk to her. He knew that if Jared was with him, he would just make fun of him for having a crush on a girl that was 'way too out of your league bro'. But there was nothing in Evan's life that he looked forward to, nothing that made him want to wake up the next morning. Just knowing that she might be there gave him something to look forward to.

Thinking about what he thought, he noticed that his thoughts were too childish, and he agreed with the Jared inside his head. She was too out of his league. With those thoughts, Evan sighed and pushed open the door to the bookstore.

He looked around to see who was in the store. There was the same cashier from the day before, but he couldn't see anyone else. Evan felt disappointed. Then he was disappointed in the fact that he felt disappointed. Even if the girl wasn't there, it was still a bookstore with a lot of new books.

He hurriedly ducked into the biology section before the cashier could say anything, although the cashier seemed to be reading a magazine. He browsed through the books, carefully choosing a book so that he wouldn't repeat the same mistake as the previous day.

He heard the door open and someone sighed. He continued, looking through the books, but kept watch from the corner of his eye.

Right when he found an interesting-looking book, someone from the other side where he was looking talked.

"Hey."

Even though it was one word, Evan jumped. If he had been holding a book, he was pretty sure that he would've flung it at the girl standing in front of him. He was so preoccupied in being startled, that he forgot his crush on her.

"Wow, sorry." She said.

"U-Um.. N-No problem." Evan managed to stutter out.

She ignored the stutter and panic in Evan's voice and instead asked, "You were here yesterday, right?"

Evan nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"I'm Zoe." She said, extending her hand. "I work here."

Evan tried to hide the fact that he wiped his hands on his pants before shaking her hand. "I-I'm Evan. M-My- uh- y-yeah. T-That's m-my name." He said, feeling awkward and wanting to go back to his apartment.

"Cool." She said.

He wondered how anyone can be so relaxed and chill as Zoe. If he tried to be relaxed, he would probably explode.

"You like trees?" She asked, gesturing towards the books he had been browsing.

"Y-Yeah."

"Give me a tree fact."

"W-What?" Evan was so stunned by the question that he forgot to keep his voice down.

"A tree fact. If you read these kind of books, you have to know  _something_." She said with a kind smile.

Evan nodded. "Uh- well. The average lifespan of a cherry blossom tree is 16 to 20 years, with some types of trees going up to 100 years. However, there is a tree in Japan that is said to be over 2,000 years old."

"Whoa." Zoe said, seemingly surprised and interested in what Evan had to say.

Evan was glad that someone was there to listen to what he liked. Whenever he talked to Jared about trees, he just teased him about his tree 'kink'. Evan didn't really know anyone else to talk to them.

"You went to college?" She asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

He nodded. "What did you study?"

"B-Biology."

"Do you have a job that has something to do with trees?"

"I-I don't have a job." He said, feeling his mood plummet.

"Oh." She said. She thought for a moment, and ran to the back of the store with a promise that she would be back.

Evan looked back to the books on the shelf. He chose a book about cherry blossoms that he knew that he didn't have and walked towards that counter. The cashier was missing, so he stood awkwardly in line.

After a little while, Zoe walked out, saw Evan, and went to the counter.

"You know," she said, scanning the book. "You're our only customer."

"Oh." He said, not really knowing what to say.

"And if you want, you can work here."

Evan was confused, but took her up on the offer.

The next morning, Evan walked into the bookstore. The cashier that was working there before was no longer there. Instead, Zoe was standing there, texting on her phone. When she noticed him, she waved to him.

Evan was given a position at the cash register. Zoe had explained what to do and left to walk around the store. He knew that this was probably a mistake the moment that someone walked into the store and he realized that he would have to talk. He hadn't been told to greet new customers, so he stayed silent.

The customer went to the counter and Evan mentally prepared himself.

While he was scanning her books, she started talking to him and he thought he would melt. "Hi. I'm Alana."

"H-Hi."

"I heard that this new bookstore opened up and I just HAD to come. I couldn't before because I had some problems that I had to work on, but now that I'm free, I'm here." She kept talking about stuff, but Evan couldn't keep track of her conversation. She was talking too fast.

After Alana paid for the book, she left the store. Evan was glad that he managed to successfully do his job. Zoe appeared from the store and walked up to the counter.

"Hey." She greeted, to which Evan nodded. "See that corner over there?" She said, motioning to the corner of the store which just had a bunch of boxes. "We were thinking of putting a little café over there."

Evan nodded. Whenever he read, he liked to drink some tea and maybe eat a scone. "T-That's a good i-idea."

Zoe nodded. There's going to be some people over tomorrow to plan the area and by next week, we'll have a café!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

"Oh! Evan! You'll get your pay on Friday. Your shift is from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. You can go eat lunch somewhere. I recommend the café across the street. You can also bring something in because we don't get that many customers and you're probably going to get bored. Is that ok with you?" Evan nodded. "Great!" Zoe said, clapping her hands together. She turned and went in the back.

Evan stared out the door to the open world. He was bored, and he would probably bring his book in tomorrow to read it. He understood the last cashier's idea to read a magazine. He then wondered what had happened to the last cashier. He wanted to ask Zoe, but he didn't care enough.

Zoe burst through the back door, startling Evan out of his thoughts. "Evan! You can go take your lunch break."

Evan nodded and walked out the store. He didn't really know where to go, so he took Zoe's advice and went to the café that was across the street. There weren't that many people inside, so Evan ordered a sandwich and some tea and sat on the couch.

As he ate, he thought about the new bookstore. Not only had he found a cute girl, he managed to get a job with said girl and now had a job and another friend.

Someone sat across from him with a huff and Evan jumped. He looked up, startled, and recognized the guy. He was the one who worked at the bookstore before Evan.

"Zoe says you got the job at the store."He said. "Then, she kicked me out."

"I-I-I'm s-sorry?" Evan said, flinching at the way he made his apology sound like a question.

The guy chuckled. "No problem. I didn't want to work there anyway."

"Oh." Evan said.

"How's it going with the job?" The guy asked,obviously not knowing how to continue their conversation.

"It's good." Evan said.

They stared at their drinks for a while. Finally, the guy spoke.

"I'm Connor." He said. Evan noticed that he didn't offer his hand to shake and he was glad.

"E-Evan."

Connor nodded. He took his drink and stood up. "I have to go."

Evan nodded and did a little awkward wave.

He noticed the time and realized that he had to get back to the bookstore. He threw away his trash and rushed across the street. When he entered the store, he saw Zoe sitting at the cash register. When she saw him come in, she smiled and stood up.

"There you are! I thought you ran away on us."

Evan looked at the time. "Uh-"

"I was joking." Zoe reassured.

Evan nodded and took his seat. The rest of his shift was uneventful, with only another customer coming in. When Evan left, Zoe cheerfully waved him goodbye.

Evan read more of the book before going to sleep. Maybe he could impress Zoe with more of his tree facts.

Evan startled awake as he heard a knock at the door. He looked at the clock. It was 1 in the morning. He frowned. Why would someone be at his door?

He opened the door and widened his eyes at the sight.

"C-Connor?"

Connor was crouched, leaning against the wall by the door. He was clutching his arms with tears sliding down his face.

"C-Can I come in?"

Connor's voice sounded so broken that Evan let him in without questioning him.

Connor went to the couch, and instead of sitting on it, he sat on the floor in front of it and leaned against the couch. Evan went into the kitchen and got him a glass of water. Connor took the glass gently, and he stayed where he was, slowly drinking the water.

Evan wasn't sure of what to do, so he stood there awkwardly. He then realized how late it was and he had work the next day.

"Are you ok? I kind of need to sleep."

Connor looked up and seemed to realize how late it was. "Y-Yeah. Uh- where's the bathroom?"

Evan pointed it out to him and bid him a good night.

Evan woke up and saw Connor sleeping on the couch. He felt bad for not setting up a proper sleeping place. He had to work, but he couldn't just leave the other man there without saying anything. He gently shook Connor's shoulder. He stirred with a groan.

"Connor? I have to go to work."

Connor sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Do you have anywhere to go? You can stay here." Evan offered.

Connor nodded.

"Ok. Help yourself to any food in the kitchen. I'll be back around 4."

Connor nodded and went back to sleep.

Evan quietly got ready and left for work. As soon as he opened the door to the bookstore, Zoe pounced on him.

"HAVEYOUSEENCONNOR." she yelled. Evan had to stop to decipher what she meant.

"Um, yeah. He's at my place."

Zoe relaxed.

"Why? What's wrong?" Evan asked, suddenly dawning on him that something must have been wrong for Zoe to question him.

"Our parents came home." Zoe said.

Evan was immediately confused. "Our? He questioned.

"Oh! He hasn't told you?" Evan shook his head. He was expecting for the wrost, a possible, 'We're married!' but instead, she said, "He's my brother."

Evan felt relieved. "What about your parents?"

Zoe shifted nervously. "Well, uh, they didn't really have a good relationship."

"Connor and your parents?"

Zoe nodded. "They came yesterday and they all started yelling at each other. Connor locked himself in his room and when we went to check on him, he wasn't there."

"So he came to my place?"

"Probably." Zoe said.

"Did you give him my address?" Evan asked.

"No? You didn't tell him?"

"No." Evan said. How  _had_  Connor found him? He had been so tired and worried when Connor showed up on his door that he hadn't questioned how Connor knew where he lived.

They both pondered on the question until the door opened and a customer walked in. They both rushed back to their places.

For his lunch break, he decided to go home. He bought some fast food for him and Connor because he knew that he didn't have that much food in his cupboards.

He cautiously opened his apartment door in case Connor was still sleeping on the couch. He found that Connor wasn't in the living room. He checked the kitchen and the bathroom and then checked in his room.

It was dark, so he had to squint to see. He turned on the light, and he saw movement from the bed. He cautiously approached and saw Connor curled up. His back was turned towards him.

When the light turned on, Connor groaned and looked towards the door. He saw Evan and bolted upright. "Evan! I ,uh, didn't think you'd be home."

He tried to make up more excuses, but Evan cut him off. "N-No. It's fine. I should've given you a proper place to sleep, but I didn't have time. I bought lunch."

Connor nodded and followed Evan to the kitchen, where their food was laid out on the table. They sat across from each other and started eating.

"Y-You know, Zoe's w-worried about you." Evan said, scared that he would make the other mad.

However, Connor seemed too tired to fully comprehend what was said. He nodded. "I had to leave. And I know that you would tell her where I was if I stayed with you."

Evan nodded carefully, staring down his food. "How did-" Evan paused. Connor stared at him, patiently waiting for Evan to continue. "How did you know where I live?"

Connor froze. Then he turned away. "I-I-" Evan was sure Connor was blushing. Connor glanced at Evan. "I looked at the employee files." Connor said, throwing his hands up. "I didn't know where to go, and I realized that you-" He stopped, realizing that he was talking too much.

Evan nodded. "It's fine. I-I glad I can help." He then looked at the clock. "I-I have to, um, go." He said, gesturing towards the door.

Connor need and stood up. "I'll clean up."

Evan thanked him and drove back to the bookstore.

When he arrived, Zoe jumped into him. "Is he ok?"

Evan nodded. He said he had to leave. What happened?"

Zoe glanced around the store nervously, and said in a whisper. "My parents and Connor aren't on the best of terms. I'm not sure if I told you before, but this bookstore is family owned. Connor didn't want to work here and when you showed up, it gave him an excuse not to work anymore. But my parents want him to get a job, but he can't get one because he dropped out of college. They're all mad at each other and I try to stop them but-" She stopped, choked by the sobs in her throat. "I'm sorry." She said, wiping her tears from her eyes. "I've said too much."

Evan could only stare at her in shock as she went into the back room. He felt like he pressed too far into their family life. He wanted to apologize to Zoe, but felt like he would be intruding more. Instead, he awkwardly stood by the cash register, hoping no one would walk into the store.

After some time, Zoe walked back out. Evan glanced at her. She didn't look like she was distressed, but Evan knew better. He stayed silent. She walked towards the front, flashing a smile at Evan that made his heart rate quicken.

At the end of his shift, Zoe met him at the door. "Hey, um-" she started. "I'm not sure how to ask you, but can you watch over him? He probably doesn't want to come home and I honestly think that it's for the best. I trust that you can care for him more than I trust my parents."

There was a hint of sadness in her voice, but she kept her calm. Evan considered this for a moment. He really didn't want to live with someone else, which is why he didn't have a roommate, but he felt like he was being relied upon. Looking at Zoe's pleading face made him feel like he was pressured into it.

He simply nodded, not trusting his mind to come up with words that wouldn't hurt Zoe.

Zoe beamed. "Thanks!" She clasped his hands, making Evan blush and feel self-conscious about his sweaty hands. "I trust you."

Evan nodded again and rushed back to his apartment. He found Connor taking a nap on the couch. He prepared dinner for the both of them, trying to be as quiet as he can so he wouldn't wake him up. The house started to smell like the tacos that Evan was making at Connor woke up.

"Mmmm." Connor mumbled, making his way to the kitchen. He peered into the kitchen and saw Evan making food for them.

Evan glanced at Connor, remembering what Zoe said. He didn't know if he should tell Connor what Zoe told him, but Connor was the most relaxed Evan had seen him in, so he stayed silent.

But he felt awkward not saying anything to Connor, so he said, "D-Did you have a good nap?"

Connor mumbled something which Evan took as a "yes" and leaned against the counter.

"You cook?" Connor asked, eyeing the pots and pans on the stove.

Evan nodded, making sure that none of his ingredients caught fire, like it did before. He soon finished making the food and they sat at the table to eat. They sat in awkward silence as they ate.

When Connor finished, he mumbled something along the lines of "That was good." and went back to the couch to sleep. Evan cleaned up and also retreated to his bedroom.

 

* * * * *

 

"Evan!" Zoe greeted.

Evan nodded in acknowledgment.

"How's Connor?" She asked, growing worried.

"H-He's fine." Evan said, rushing to the cash register.

Zoe frowned at the lack of response but let Evan go. She wanted to know what had happened to her brother, but Evan felt off.

The door to the bookstore opened, setting off the bell. Zoe, who was next to the door, whirled around to see who walked into the store.

She gasped. "Connor!" She tackled him into a hug. "I was worried about you!"

Connor mumbled something to her and she dragged him into the back room.

Evan replayed the small argument that he and Connor had in the morning. All Evan wanted was for Connor to talk to Zoe face-to-face, but Connor had made such a big deal out of it. Evan left without managing to convince him, and he wondered what made Connor change his mind.

Zoe burst from the door with Connor following behind her. They went behind the counter, taking Evan out of his thoughts.

"Connor's going to stay here with you, Evan." Zoe explained. "He doesn't really want to work, but he doesn't want to sit in your apartment doing nothing all day so he's staying here. Watch over him and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

Connor sat in a chair at the back and pulled out a magazine and began to read. Zoe, satisfied, walked around the bookstore to make sure that things were in order."

 

* * * * * *

 

Zoe walked up to the counter. "It's your lunch break, Evan, so you can leave."

"A-Actually I brought lunch." Evan replied, holding up a bag with leftovers of the tacos he made the day before.

Zoe beamed. "Then we can eat lunch together! How about you, Connor?" She asked, turning towards him.

He lowered his magazine and looked at the time. "I'll go to the bakery." He said, standing up and leaving.

Zoe and Evan unpacked their lunch and started eating. Zoe kept making jokes and Evan couldn't help but laugh. He felt like he was falling deeper in love with her.

The door slammed open and Evan jumped. Connor sulked in and sat back in his chair. Zoe huffed, threw away her trash, and moved to the back room. Evan also cleaned up and stood at the cash register. He glanced at Connor, who looked away.

After his shift, Connor pulled Evan aside. "Let's go to the café."

Evan agreed, although he was kind of forced to, and was dragged to the café across the street. Instead of actually buying anything, Connor forcefully pulled Evan into the corner of the café.

"You like her?" He asked, although it sounded more like a statement.

"U-Uh..."

Connor pulled him closer. "Let me tell you one thing." He growled. "No one's touching my sister. Especially not  _you_."

The last word was nearly hissed out, and it stung Evan. He felt tears in his eyes but forced them down.

He nodded, and Connor's grip on him relaxed. Evan used it as an opportunity to get away from Connor. He ran out of the café and all the way back to his apartment. He locked the door and rushed into his bed, where he burst into tears.

After about an hour, he heard a knock on the door but ignored it, feeling too tired to move. The knocking eventually stopped and Evan drifted into a restless sleep.

We woke up the next morning feeling sluggish. He thought about what had happened the day before and burst into tears again. He didn't feel like going to work was the best idea for him, so he stayed still.

After about three hours, he heard knocking on the door again. It was frantic, but Evan still ignored it. He heard a faint voice, but he didn't know who it was or what they were saying. Instead of going to the door, he fell back sleep.

He was rudely awoken by his phone, which was on the dresser across the room. He stood up only to silence the phone and went back to sleep.

Evan was rudely awoken again. This time, someone was shaking him. He opened his eyes and grumbled and the person shaking him stopped. The person said something, but he couldn't decipher what was said.

The room was suddenly filled with light, and Evan was startled into a sitting position. He looked around the room and saw Connor by the window, which shone with morning light.

Evan fell back onto the bed and pulled the blanket over his head. Connor sighed and pulled the blanket off of him.

"When was the last time you ate?" He asked. Connor's voice wasn't filled with anger, like Evan expected, but with something else.  _Worry._

Evan didn't reply, but his stomach did, growling at the mention of eating.

"Fuck." Connor mumbled. He went by Evan's side and put a hand on his forehead. He nodded and went into the kitchen. He came back with a bowl of soup and a glass of water, which Evan silently accepted.

Evan had no idea what was going on, but he felt too hungry and too sad to question anything that was happening to him.

Connor stood awkwardly at the door, looking like he wanted to escape but something was holding him back. Evan stared at him, a thousand questions running through his mind.

Connor finally sighed. "I know you have questions, but just wait. I-I want to apologize to you about yest- two days ago." Connor suddenly looked nervous, possibly because he didn't think Evan would accept his apology.

Evan nodded and started to speak, but Connor stopped him. "I have to explain what was happening in my mind." He cautiously approached the bed and sat down at the edge. "I saw you and Zoe joking around and you looked, well, happy. I haven't seen you that way before and I knew that you loved her. B-But I was-" He stopped, glancing at Evan, then the floor. "I was jealous."

Evan was shocked, and just stared at him. Connor looked up and flinched when he saw Evan's shocked expression. "D-Do I have to explain?" He asked, voice cracking towards the end of the question.

Evan opened and closed his mouth, not knowing what to say. "Y-You like me?"

Connor stared at the floor. Instead of replying, he simply nodded.

Evan thought back to the previous week and everything that had happened up to this moment. A small bookshop opened up, he fell in love with his employer, her sister stayed over at his house, he got growled at by said brother, and now the same brother was confessing his feeling towards him. Then he thought of specific events. Connor showing up at his doorstep and how worried Evan had been, how easy it was for Evan to talk to Connor, who he barely knew, and Connor's protectiveness over Zoe.

Connor stood up. Evan swore he saw tears in his eyes. Connor left the room, leaving Evan confused. He heard the front door softly close and immediately sprung from his bed. He dashed out of his apartment, probably looking like a mess, but he didn't care. He sprinted out into the street, where he saw the dejected figure of Connor quickly walking away from him.

"Connor!" He called out, sprinting towards him.

Connor turned around just in time for Evan to crash into his arms.

Evan huffed, out of breath, for a moment before he leaned upwards and pressed a kiss to Connor's mouth.

Connor was shocked, but eventually returned the kiss.

They pulled apart.

"Wha-" Connor started to question, but Evan quieted him with another kiss.

After they pulled apart again, Evan said to Connor in a whisper,

"I love you too."

**Author's Note:**

> I kind of had to rush the ending, and I didn't want to change it, so it's the same here and on Wattpad. This has a happy ending in contrast to my last oneshot, so everyone's happy (even me). The next oneshot might be posted later in the future, and I might start putting my FNAF fanfiction that I've been working on for a few years. We'll see.


End file.
